If there is one thing we know about summer in Sarasota, it is that the weather is bound to be unpredictable. Seasonal thunderstorms lead to unpredictable lightning strikes and power surges. To protect your most valuable electronics, you should always have them plugged into a surge protector to shield them from unexpected electrical damage.
What is a Power Surge?
A power surge is an interruption in the electrical line that can cause a sudden decrease and then increase in voltage running through the line. You can think of it like a wave crashing onto shore–the water is pulled back, but then washes far up the shoreline. This wave of electricity travels downstream and can enter any electrical appliance or device that is tapped into the electrical line, such as your phone, laptop, or TV. Small power surges may occur when you turn on a demanding appliance like a hairdryer or AC unit turns on. Large-scale power surges, on the other hand, are caused by lightning striking a power line or transformer. While a hair dryer may cause your electricity to surge by 5 joules, a hit from lightning can create a surge of more than 1,000 joules.
How Does a Surge Protector Work?
Power surges damage the microprocessors on electronic devices. Small surges do small amounts of damage over time, while large ones can completely fry a processor. For this reason, you always want to use a surge protector when plugging in items like computers, phones, and gaming systems.
Surge protectors have a limited lifespan. In general, they lose effectiveness relative to the sizes of the surges they encounter. For example, if you get a surge protector that protects for up to 500 joules and then experience a 90 joule surge, your protector can now only protect your devices from a maximum of 410 joules. Most surge protectors these days will tell you once they’ve lost their effectiveness and need to be replaced.
Power Strips versus Surge Protectors
It can be easy to mistake a power strip for a surge protector, but they have key differences. A power strip plugs into a normal outlet and allows you to plug many devices in at once. They’re useful in an office when you have items like a monitor, computer tower, wifi router, and phone charger that need to be all plugged in at once and in the same area. This is the limit of a power strip’s function though.
A surge protector is like an upgraded power strip. It also lets you plug multiple devices into one outlet, but offers additional protection from electrical surges that result from overloaded circuit breakers, damaged equipment, or of course lightning strikes.
When nad Where Should You Use a Surge Protector?
A surge protector is like insurance for your most important data. Since one of the biggest threats from power surges is the loss of data in devices with microprocessors, you’ll always want these plugged into surge protectors. At the very least, use a surge protector for phones and computers during thunderstorms. While you can plug all of your appliances into a surge protector, this is not necessary. Only those with microprocessors are at the highest risk.
For professional advice on how to protect your home from electrical damage and risks, call Promise Electric of Sarasota. We will perform an inspection and provide recommendations to best maximize and safety-proof the electrical system in your home.
